


This Love Has Taken Its Toll On Me

by nothinglasts222



Category: Adam Levine (Musician), Blake Shelton (Musician), Shevine - Fandom, The Voice (US) RPF, The Voice RPF
Genre: Angst, Fanfiction, Gen, M/M, OTP Feels, Platonic Male/Male Relationships, Platonic Relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-25
Updated: 2015-03-25
Packaged: 2018-03-18 14:16:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,670
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3572714
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nothinglasts222/pseuds/nothinglasts222
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Why don’t you keep your fucking mouth shut? For once.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	This Love Has Taken Its Toll On Me

**Author's Note:**

> So my inspiration for this came mostly from the first couple nights of the blind auditions (if you watch The Voice regularly you’ll know what I’m talking about.) Blake pissed me off a little bit during the first few episodes so I wanted to expose and expand on that. I have no idea how they feel in real life, this is just my fictional interpretation of events. I had been wanting to do an argument fic for a while and I finally found inspiration. Thought it’d be interesting to try something different. Hope you like it.

“Why don’t you keep your fucking mouth shut? For once.”

Blake calculates that as the exact moment he lost Adam. Maybe for good.

He’s drawn back to the present by the sound of Carson’s voice softly speaking his name.

“Blake?”

“Hmm?”

“Do you want to tell me what happened?”

Blake glances at his surroundings. They’re sitting in a smoky bar amidst a few guys playing pool and a couple others sitting at the bar, but otherwise they’re alone. Blake takes a sip of his drink.

“Look, maybe it’s none of my business. But you and Adam are great friends and I’d hate to see something come between you, especially this early in the season.”

“Man, it’s nothing for you to worry about.”

“I saw what happened on that stage, Blake. I’m your friend. Maybe I can help.”

Blake takes another sip. God knows he needs help. He sighs. “Alright.”

Carson nods his head approvingly. “Okay. Start from the beginning.”

***

Blake is the first to arrive on set. He sits down on a sofa in the backstage lounge area and pulls out his phone.

“Hey Blake, glad you’re on time. And not drunk,” Carson jokes as he hurries by, finalizing things for the first day of the blind auditions.

“I’m always drunk!” Blake calls back, but Carson is already gone.

“Yo, Shelton!” He turns at the voice to see Adam strutting through the door. “Long time no see. Did you miss me?” the rock star asks.

“No.” Blake laughs. “Okay, maybe a little.” They’ve seen each other a few times between their hectic schedules but now they’ll be seeing a lot more of each other on a daily basis. As much as Adam drives him crazy sometimes he really did miss the guy.

He stands up and they share a brief hug. Christina and Pharrell come through the door next. Carson stops by to tell them that they’ve got some time before they start taping, then he’s off again. The coaches catch up with one another, talk about where their lives lead them on their hiatus, share stories and news.

Somehow Adam ends up next to Blake on the sofa, and Blake is glad that no one else is allowed back there, because he’s sure they’d be snapping all the pictures they could get and the headlining online article tomorrow would be something about their ‘bromance.’ Blake likes Adam as a friend, nothing more, and sometimes the media can paint the wrong picture. Besides, he cherishes the time all four of them are alone together, which isn’t all that often.

The start of the tapings is taking longer than usual; they’re experiencing some technical difficulties, the producers say. Blake is beginning to feel the after-effects of his late-night drinking, plus he didn’t sleep well at all. His head hurts, and all he wants to do is lie down. He tilts his head back and closes his eyes. The story Christina is telling no longer makes sense in his mind. He’s drifting off, wishing to stay awake but eventually letting sleep take over. He vaguely remembers hearing Adam say something before he’s out.

***

“Okay! Everything is up and running again. We’re good to go! I need the coaches out here, now please!” Mark Burnett calls into the lounge room.

Blake’s walking out to the big red chairs, when he catches Adam out of the corner of his eye, a smirk plastered to his face.

“What?” Blake asks.

“Nothing.” Adam moves off to his seat, and Blake shrugs it off. He feels more refreshed; the nap did him good. He was slightly embarrassed to have woken up sprawled over the couch, but none of the other coaches gave him a hard time and he’s now determined to have a good first taping.

The show is going great. They’ve all picked up some great talent, and Blake is thoroughly enjoying himself. He’s won over a lot of great contestants, and has gotten quite a few good jabs in at the other coaches, much to their chagrin. Then comes a moment that he can’t resist.

“…and I did have three artists, my whole team, in the finale last season so I think I know what I’m—”

Blake cuts Adam off. “You’re right Adam, you did have three artists in the finale. But my one beat your three. I’d call that an epic fail on your part.”

He looks over at Adam, who appears mortified. The audience cheers, and Blake smiles.

After Blake’s last remark, Adam remains fairly quiet, not fighting as hard as he was before and offering little in the way of critiques. The joke wasn’t _that_ bad, surely he can handle it.

They’re down to one of the last contestants of the day. The song starts playing, and Blake recognizes it as one of Maroon 5’s. He also recognizes it as the song that he and his team sang back in season 1— _This Love._

He listens intently, savoring the male singer’s sweet voice before pressing his button. Adam has already turned around, and he’s nodding along enthusiastically. When the song finishes and the other coaches’ chairs turn automatically, Adam is on his feet clapping.

“What’s your name?” Blake asks as the noise dies down.

“Josh,” the contestant replies.

“Man, you were great, and all I know is Adam and I are going to fight to our death over you.” There is no way in hell Adam is getting away with this one. He has the disadvantage with it being Adam’s song, but all the more reason to beat him. Blake needs this guy. Bad. 

Adam starts his pitch. “Man, you were incredible. I loved everything about that performance. And the fact that you choose my song automatically means you should pick me over Blake.”

Blake snorts. “That’s all you’ve got? ‘Pick me because it’s my song?’ Josh, if you want a coach who will actually coach you on singing and not on what songs are theirs or not, then you’re looking at your guy. I believe we can win this thing together.” More cheering.

Blake detects of flicker of anger on Adam’s face before he stands up and makes his way over to Christina’s chair.

“Josh. Tell me something. Do you want a coach who drools in his sleep?” There’s a few chuckles from the audience as Adam takes something that Christina hands to him and walks on stage. He shows Josh a picture, and Blake wonders what in the hell he’s doing.

“That’s right everyone.” Adam turns and addresses the audience. “Earlier, backstage, Blake over here, fell asleep. With his head on my shoulder.” He looks toward Blake, searching for a reaction.

“The other coaches and I thought it would be funny to take a picture of him. It was my idea but they were nice enough to play along.” He flips around the picture he’s been holding. “This, my friends, is Mr. Blake Shelton. He’s so cute when he sleeps, isn’t he?”

Blake believes surely Adam’s just making crap up, until Adam is in front of him, waving the photo in his face. Sure enough, his head is rested on Adam’s shoulder, mouth open, eyes closed, one hand on Adam’s thigh and the other on the sofa. His jaw drops. He can feel the heat rising in his cheeks, can hear the audience now going wild in the background. Someone shouts _SHEVINE!_

“And no Blake, I was not finished earlier. Josh is an incredible vocalist at his young age, with an amazing range, flawless pitch, and he nailed that song perfectly. He’d be an absolute asset to have on any team.”

Blake is too stunned to say anything. Adam smiles. “So,” he turns back to Josh. “Josh. Who do you pick as your coach?” As if on cue, the audience goes mad chanting Adam’s name.

“I pick Adam!”

Adam runs back on stage and hugs his new team member, who looks ecstatic. Blake steals a glance down the row at Christina and Pharrell, who are clapping along with everyone else. How could they have turned on him too?

Adam is beaming as he makes his way back to his seat. The audience is still on their feet, and Blake’s head is pounding from the noise. The reality of what just happened begins to sink in, and Blake feels completely and utterly fucked over. He doesn’t get embarrassed easily, but this crossed the line.

He stares down the line at Adam.

That sneaky little bastard.

No way could this shit be aired.

***

The night wrapped up with Blake in a zombie-like state for the remainder of the performances. As soon as they get the all-clear to leave he sees Adam head out. Blake makes a beeline backstage, outside, and to Adam’s trailer. He flings the door open and finds a startled-looking Adam staring back at him.

“Can’t you knock?” Adam asks.

“Don’t fuck around with me.”

“Hey bro, calm down.”

“Calm down? What the hell just happened tonight?” He motions with arm toward the door.

"I don't know Blake. You tell me."

“Adam? What the hell? No one else needed to know about that!”

“Now you know how it feels.”

“What are you talkin’ about?”

“The way you made me look like a fucking idiot the whole night? Remember that? It was payback.”

Blake attempts a laugh. “Oh, wow, payback. How old are we? You can’t even compare the two!”

“Yes I can, and I did. It was time you learned your lesson.”

“It wasn’t funny at all, Adam. That was way worse than anything I’ve ever said to you. You humiliated the crap out of me! Plus you gave people the wrong picture of our relationship.”

Adam just eyes him warily.

“Why don’t you keep your fucking mouth shut? For once.”

Adam opens his mouth to speak, but quickly shuts it. He’s now glaring at Blake, eyes wide. The fight has left him and is replaced with pure anger. In a split second, he turns on his heel and strides out, slamming the door behind him. Blake realizes that he took it too far. He’s left staring at a wall, blinking idly.

He waits a minute before leaving, walking fast enough not to give anyone left at the studio time to stop or talk to him. He faintly hears Carson calling both his and Adam’s names in the background.

***

Carson leans back and runs a hand across his face. “Wow. That’s…wow.”

“I thought you were supposed to be helping me, not judging me.”

“Sorry, man. I’m not. It’s just a lot to take in.” He pauses to think. “But I know what you need to do.”

“What?”

“Talk to Adam.”

Blake sighs. _Shit._ “I guess I saw that coming.”

“Seriously. You two need to work this out.”

“I don’t even know if we can, it got so out of hand.”

“Just put all of that aside. Listen to what he has to say, and explain to him why you acted the way you did. Although quite frankly I think you were a little—”

Blake holds up a hand. “No need to say it. I know. You’re right.” He makes a move to get up.

“Are you going over now?”

Blake grabs his jacket and keys. “Now or never.”

***

He thought he had some confidence coming from the bar on his drive over. Now, he’s sitting in front of the gate to Adam’s place, searching his mind for the right things to say. He knows he hurt Adam and feels terrible for it. He’ll be treading on thin ice tonight trying not to upset either of them.

He punches in the code, something he realizes he knows by heart. He makes it up the long drive to the front door. The doorbell rings, he hears footsteps inside, then the door swings open. Adam is dressed in sweats and a T-shirt, and he stares at Blake like he’s a piece of garbage that he threw out yesterday.

Adam goes to shut the door, but Blake catches it, pushes it back open.

“Adam, let me in please.”

“Why? So you can ridicule me some more? Didn’t get enough back on the set?”

He feels anger boiling inside of him but remains civil. “I want to talk about what happened.”

“What’s there to talk about?”

“A lot.”

Adam hesitates, then moves aside so Blake can enter. He leads him into the kitchen and props himself against a counter, arms folded over his chest.

“Talk.”

“Adam, don’t be like this. I came to apologize. I acted like a jerk to you in your trailer. I didn’t mean what I said. I was way out of line.”

Seconds turn into minutes. Adam taps a foot. Blake finds his eyes trailing up the rock star’s lean body. He tears his glance away quickly.

“Well? Aren’t you going to say anything?” Blake finally asks.

“I don’t have anything to say.”

“Maybe an apology back?”

Silence.

“What the hell is wrong with you? I come over here to try to apologize and be nice to you and this is how you repay me? I can’t change what I said earlier but I’m tryin’ to make things right now.”

Suddenly Adam’s composed demeanor starts to crumble. “You don’t get it, do you? It’s not about that.”

Blake is taken aback by the sudden turn of the conversation. “I don’t understand.”

“I didn’t want to do what I did tonight. But when you feel like shit from constantly being pushed to the edge, sometimes you just snap.” He pauses. “Do you know how hard I worked with my team last season? How much time and effort it took to get all three of those guys to the finale? I felt bad enough when none of them won, but then everywhere I turned it was getting rubbed in my face. I brushed it off most of the time. But that comment you made tonight...I was just so tired of being made to look and feel like a fucking loser.”

Blake’s sure he looks surprised as hell and quickly tries to comprehend what Adam said and formulate a response. He’s not fast enough.

Adam sighs. “So, that’s that. I’m sure you think I’m an even bigger baby now.”

Blake feels like shit. He had no idea. He didn’t know his teasing was eating Adam up inside. He didn’t know he was the reason for his friend’s outburst.

“Jesus Christ, Adam. I thought maybe you did that because you weren’t getting any artists on your team.”

“I wish. But it’s over now. Everyone had a good laugh and—”

“No it’s not over. I owe you a bigger apology.”

Adam looks up, and Blake feels an urge to turn away out of shame, but he forces his eyes to stay trained on Adam’s soft brown ones.

“Look, I didn’t mean any of what I said. It just slipped out. I know how hard you work. Hell, you’re in the studio more than me. You’re a great coach, and anyone is lucky to work with you.”

“Thanks.”

He pauses, not knowing what else to say. Adam is staring at the floor. God, he still feels terrible. No amount of apologies could undo this one, make Blake feel better about himself.

“Blake I’m sorry too.” He voice cuts through the silence and their eyes meet. “What I did to you.”

Blake feels an overwhelming need to hug the smaller man, but he keeps his distance and plays it off with humor.

“It was embarrassing as hell at the time but I gotta say, that’s like, my level stuff. How’d you come up with it?”

Adam smiles a little and shrugs good-naturedly. “I dunno. Guess some of your genius rubbed off on me.”

Blake laughs. “So, are we good?”

“Yeah, we’re good.” Adam finally fulfills Blake’s need by walking up to him and giving him a hug, which Blake cherishes. He still doesn’t feel like he deserves Adam’s forgiveness. He’ll make it up to him somehow.


End file.
